From Man-Cave to Mind-Cave: Three Steps to Making Positive Change Happen.

(ThyBlackMan.com) A ‘man-cave’ is a man’s domain; it is his place of solitude and comfort. For some, though, in a culture where brothers have been demonized and ostracized, the man-cave becomes a place of idleness, a habitat for sameness, where we become deathly afraid to think outside the box. Our man-cave is our retreat, often where we lick our wounds and celebrate our triumphs.

Change is the hardest thing in life for us to accept. Change rarely happens in places where we’ve become comfortable. We need to bust out of our comfort zones.

It requires moving from ‘man-cave’ to ‘mind-cave’; authentic change begins in the mind. It’s a mental undertaking that requires mental work – hard mental labor.

Here are three mind-sets – a ‘mind-cave’ – that we can use to make positive change happen and the necessary action behind it.

You Must Desire Change

Desire for change begins with understanding what it is you want. Amazing things happen when you become tired of the same ole same ole. If you are at the point in your life where nothing makes sense, where nothing is producing the results you want, it is time for change – it’s time to develop a ‘mind-cave’ for positive change. But you must want it. You must be so weary of the life you presently experience and want more.

Action:

So ask yourself: if I don’t want what I have now, what is it that I really, really want? Asking this question opens the floodgate of possibilities. Go even further. Write down what it is you want on paper. Then rewrite it, if necessary. Make it plain so that you can read it while you’re running!

You Must Assert Change

Wanting change and asserting it are two different matters when developing a ‘mind-cave’ for positive change. Many are the people who wish change would come, but very few are those who get up and actually make it happen. To assert it is to believe that you have the right to it; it is knowing beyond the shadow of doubt that you have a right to success and abundance; peace and justice and the unfettered access to your future.

Action:

Assertion is a timetable; it’s a plan. When do you want this new life? When will you take the first step to make this change happen? When will you put the plan into action? No better time than now! Why wait? Do you need permission? Assert yourself. Make a plan. Do it now. Write the business plan. Do the research. Put some feet to your dream

You Must Own the Change you Make

From desiring change to asserting change comes the most important step in developing a ‘mind-cave’ for positive change: you must own the change you wish to see. Better said, you must become the change you wish to be. See yourself as a winner – even when you are losing. In fact, see losing as fodder for winning. You cannot win a war if you have not lost a few battles. Own your mistakes and learn from them.

Action:

The why becomes the basis of the change you desire. Once you determine your why, you become one with your change. Write affirmations and recite them throughout the day. Embrace change and build from it. You’ve crafted a brand-new experience. Own the good and the bad and create from it. Understand you power to create out of what you’ve created.

When we desire, assert and own change, we initiate positive change in our lives.

Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes

This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.

In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.